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ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´ announces the appointment of deans for the School of Nursing and the College of Arts and Sciences .

Meredith Wallace Kazer, Ph.D., APRN, FAAN , (pictured left) an esteemed professor of nursing and associate dean of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´'s School of Nursing, has been appointed to a two-year term as dean of the School of Nursing . The appointment began on June 16. James Simon, Ph.D. , (pictured right) professor of English and associate dean of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´'s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), has been named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences . He is serving a one-year term that began June 1.

A New Haven, Conn., resident, Dr. Meredith Kazer is an award-winning researcher who is also an adult and gerontological primary care nurse practitioner. As dean of the School of Nursing, she replaces Lynn Babington, Ph.D., RN, who was recently named ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´'s new senior vice president of academic affairs. Dr. Kazer has served the School of Nursing over the past two years as associate dean and graduate program director. "In these roles, she led us through successful Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditations of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program," said Dr. Babington. "She worked to increase graduate enrollments and has been awarded over a million dollars in grant funding. Her career spanning focus on improving the quality of life of older adults has resulted in numerous patient-centered interventions." Dr. Kazer's work has been disseminated in ten books, over 70 peer-reviewed journal publications, 26 book chapters, and over 100 research and invited presentations. She currently maintains a practice in Connecticut with a focus on chronic illness in older adults, clinical experience that informs her scholarly work. She was awarded the Connecticut Nurse Association Virginia Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Nursing Research. Dr. Kazer received the Springer Publishing Company Award for Applied Nursing Research and four American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Awards. In addition, she is the recipient of the Eastern Nursing Research Society/John A. Hartford Foundation junior investigator award and in, 2011, was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing, an appointment reserved for nurse leaders at the forefront of the profession nationwide. Dr. Kazer holds a baccalaureate in nursing from Boston University, a master's of science in nursing from Yale University, and a Ph.D. from New York University.

Dr. James Simon , of Stratford, Conn., came to ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´ in 1997 to direct the journalism program and serve as the faculty advisor to The Mirror, the student-run weekly newspaper, after having served on the faculty at the University of the Pacific and Rutgers. He was tenured and promoted to associate professor in 2001 and was promoted to professor in 2006. He was chair of the English Department for five years before becoming associate dean.  Dr. Simon has a strong interest in student development. As an associate dean, he created the nationally acclaimed Classroom To Career program to help students use co-curricular activities to complement their work in the classroom. He created the CAS Student Advising Checklist to improve advising and encourage more mentoring of students by faculty members and launched an internship program with Bridgeport City Hall that has placed more than 40 students over the past18 months. Dr. Simon currently serves as vice chair of the University's Task Force on Outcomes as part of the Fairfield 2020 Strategic Plan. He received his Ph.D. in public affairs and M.M.C. degree in journalism & telecommunication from Arizona State University, where he co-founded The Cactus State Poll. He also holds a B.A. in community development: urban journalism from Rutgers University. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Simon worked as a reporter and editor for The Associated Press, where he wrote 4,000 news stories and was elected president of the Massachusetts Statehouse Press Association. He worked as assistant secretary of the environment in Massachusetts and in public relations in both the public and private sectors.

In other faculty news:

Norman A. Solomon, Ph.D ., professor of management and former dean of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, will take a one-year leave of absence from ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´ in order to serve as interim dean of Loyola University Maryland's Sellinger School of Business and Management. Dr. Solomon, who served as dean of the Dolan School of Business from 2001 to 2011, will return to Fairfield after the 2014-15 academic year.

Dr. Manyul Im, associate professor in the Philosophy Department and current Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, has accepted the position of Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Bridgeport. As a faculty member, Dr. Im taught courses in Asian philosophy as well as general introductory courses that integrated traditions of non-Western thought. Among the course he taught was a very popular one on Daoism and Zen Buddhism that incorporated the practice of target archery. He also served as the faculty advisor to the Archery Club. At the University of Bridgeport, Dr. Im will manage 13 departments that offer 27 undergraduate and three graduate programs. He will begin his new position July 15.  Please join me in congratulating him on his new post.

Jill Deupi, J.D., Ph.D ., Director and Chief Curator of University Museums at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´, will be the new director of the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL, effective August 2014. At ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´, Dr. Deupi was founding director and chief curator of the Bellarmine Museum of Art, which welcomed many thousands of visitors since opening to the public in October 2010. Dr. Deupi curated close to 20 loan shows at the Bellarmine and Fairfield’s Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, which she directed since 2013, securing significant external support from a range of donors, corporate sponsors, and foundations. Highlights of her programming achievements include the establishment of a distinguished lecture series in the visual arts funded by the Robert Lehman Foundation, the implementation of a hugely successful Family Day program at the Bellarmine Museum, and the development of a broad range of programming in arts education and engagement. She instituted the museum’s cultural tours abroad program and oversaw its recent inclusion as a member of the Connecticut Art Trail. Dr. Deupi also served as an Assistant Professor of Art History at Fairfield since 2008.

Dr. Joy Gordon , Professor of Philosophy, has been selected as the Ignacio Ellacuría, S.J. Chair in Social Ethics at Loyola University Chicago. She will be leaving Fairfield next January to assume this distinguished role. During her time at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´, Dr. Gordon has received numerous grants and awards including the Robert A. Wall Award and a prestigious fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her work at Fairfield has animated our Jesuit mission; she was instrumental in the development of our partnership with the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua, Nicaragua and established our partnership with the University of Havana. She has served on the steering committees of the programs in Applied Ethics, Latin American/Caribbean Studies, Peace & Justice Studies, and Women’s Studies, and directed the former Legal Studies Program. She currently is Chair of the Philosophy Department.
 Since she came to ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´ in 1997, she has been teaching and publishing in the fields of political philosophy, human rights, international law, and philosophy of law.